Underdogs again

The Thunder had a 97.4% chance to win with two minutes and 52 seconds left in Game One of the National Basketball Association Finals. At that time, newly minted Most Valuable Player awardee Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just made the first of two free throws that had them up by eight.

- ANTHONY L. CUAYCONG

And because they held the lead from opening tip, there was simply no reason for even diehard fans of the Pacers to believe an upset remained in the realm of possibility.

As things turned out, the Pacers still had more than enough fight in them to pull off yet another monumental comeback. With time winding down in the crunch, they chipped away at the deficit, first off two three-pointers sandwiching a Thunder miss, and then off two charities and a follow-up shot to counter a Gilgeous-Alexander basket. And when the latter inexplicably missed on a lightly contested turnaround jumper in the lane, the stage was set for the comeback to be completed.